A Token of Gratitude
by Seseorang
Summary: In exchange for his efforts as Santa Island Mask, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada gains something he considers a gift. Hinted Amakusa/Jeanne. Oneshot.


Fate/Grand Order © TYPE-MOON

**WARNING: Language.**

* * *

Christmas was, to say the least, _eventful_. With all the debacle surrounding Santa Lily, involving various,_ mysterious _Servants, it was a relief no major damage had been done. Even though Santa Lily's adventure required the team to fight a lot, it held no candle to Elizabeth Bathory's Halloween, in term of being chaotic. In fact, it was quite a miracle Master and his team survived the Halloween every year.

Only Amakusa—in his disguise as _Santa Island Mask_—had suffered quite the injury, having taken the role of the big-bad-evil final boss. The blow dealt not lethal, but it still hurt, nonetheless. He had to put an extra effort to avoid Nightingale, who was adamant to _treat_ him—Amakusa even considered to use his skills to stun her and _escape_—but thankfully, the Count of Monte Cristo appeared in the perfect time, buying Amakusa enough time to get away. Amakusa chuckled at the thought of the Count having his cigarette taken _again_ by the nurse, or maybe now he'd be convinced to let Nightingale scrub his coat until it was sparkly white. Either way, it was amusing.

"Ow, ow…"

But the bruises on his body were _not_, so he had to seek for—actual—treatment. Nightingale would probably find a way to separate his torso from his neck—_'To prevent anymore bruises!'—_and Amakusa still valued his life, thus prompting him to look for Master. Unfortunately, Master was out on a mission, so Amakusa chose to return to the safety of his chamber.

Still lightly rubbing the bruises on his abdomen, Amakusa strode in the halls of Chaldea, observing the Servants Master had summoned, from the kitchen that was always lively, the gaming room which had become the source of yells of various emotions, even the library served as a preferred place of gathering for Servants acquainted with writing or scientists.

Their Master sure had a certain charm, to be able to gain the loyalty of _this_ many Heroic Spirits.

Amakusa even had a chance to…_reconcile_, with a certain fellow Ruler, looking past the differences they had in the past. More specifically, past summoning.

"My Mentor!" In a split second, Amakusa felt stinging pain radiating from his abdomen up to his chest, right after something—_someone—_bumped into him with a rather immense impact, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ouch, ouch!"

"My Mentor! Are you okay!? Something wrong!?" Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily—for Lord's sake, why would she name herself like _that_—quickly pulled away, releasing her tight grip from himself. "Are you injured!?"

"Hey, Lily." Amakusa shot a smile to conceal his pain. "Just minor injuries, no worries."

"Even if they are minor, injuries are not to be ignored, Amakusa Shirou." The voice that followed from behind Santa Lily caught his attention. "Do you need me to fetch Miss Nightingale to treat you?"

"Please do not trouble yourself with that, Jeanne d'Arc." Amakusa quickly shook his head. "I believe she's already occupied, with the Count."

An understanding smile appeared on Jeanne's face, "Ah, I see."

"Hey, hey, Proper-Adult-Me!" Santa Lily tugged on Jeanne's shirt, "Shouldn't we help my Mentor?"

"You're right, Lily." Jeanne patted her younger counterpart's head softly, "Your mentor has been helping me too, so the least I can do is treating him."

Amakusa's eyes widened, not expecting this kind of development. If Jeanne was talking about his role in Santa Lily's journey, it was all Master's plan, and he had made it clear that he only intended to assist because more Jeanne d'Arc Alters who didn't get along with their original counterpart would be around.

Although looking at the current situation, that 'not getting along' part was anything but true…

"I appreciate your concern." He replied softly, but before he had the time to continue, Santa Lily had already grabbed his wrist and pulled him away, closely followed by Jeanne d'Arc herself.

* * *

Amakusa found himself seated in one of the beds inside Chaldea's infirmary, in the company of Jeanne d'Arc and her Santa Lily counterpart.

"Lady Da Vinci has bestowed us a salve that works in healing a Servant's materialized form. She said that she and Master are on the process of developing it, but it has already shown effects on previous battles." Jeanne held a small container, which had a simplified drawing of Da Vinci and Master on it. Amakusa almost snorted, but held back.

"Where are you hurt, my Mentor?" Santa Lily asked innocently.

"You were wincing when Lily hugged you, so I assume your worse wounds are on your body?" Jeanne guessed correctly. Amakusa tensed a bit when she approached him, seemingly observing him, specifically his torso.

"Ehm…yeah, the bruises are the worst on my body." Amakusa confirmed.

To his horror, the oblivious Jeanne stated. "Then please take of your clothes, Amakusa Shirou."

"I'm sorry, _what?_" He looked at her like she had grown a second head, or worse, turned into an Alter. She hadn't.

"We need to apply the salve directly on your wounds. The healing effects and spells from Master and Lady Da Vinci would only work that way." Jeanne explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, right, of course." Amakusa hastily nodded. He was taken aback by Jeanne's blunt request, but quickly composed himself. "I'll do it myself, then. You and Lily don't need to worry."

Respecting his wish, Jeanne handed the salve to Amakusa. Amakusa felt warmth as their fingers brushed lightly, and he wondered if Jeanne felt that as well.

He was about to take off his clothing when he realized. "Why are you still here?"

"Because I offered the treatment?" Jeanne replied.

"Because I want to help my Mentor!" Santa Lily chimed in cheerfully. Amakusa smiled warmly at that.

"I'm okay, you both. I can manage this by myself." He assured them.

"Are you sure, my Mentor?" Santa Lily asked with a concerned look.

"Yes, I am, Lily." Amakusa smiled, "It' not really a big deal, and I'm sure Master's and Lady Da Vinci's efforts in making this salve will result in a good thing. Your _Proper-Adult-Self_ even said that this has worked on other Servants, right? It will be no problem. Don't worry, Lily, and you too, Jeanne d'Arc."

Both Jeanne and Santa Lily exchanged looks, and with a final sigh and an understanding smile, Jeanne put her hand on Santa Lily's shoulder. "Alright, Amakusa Shirou. Lily and I will be on our way then. Make sure all your bruises are covered, and we are ready to help whenever you need us."

"Thank you again, Jeanne d'Arc and Lily."

Both Jeannes left the room, leaving Amakusa by himself. He closed the curtains separating each bed and began undressing. He took some of the salve and applied it on his bruised abdomen, slowly feeling the pain withering away. He wondered if Master and Da Vinci made this salve with analgesic effects too. He was grateful that they did.

Unfortunately, the pain didn't seem to originate only from his abdomen—it seemed his back had suffered as well. He recalled the blows he took from Santa Lily, Nursery Rhyme, and Jack earlier, and remembered that indeed Nursery's spells had hit him on the back several times. Sure, he was a Ruler, he had resistance against many classes of Servants, but blows enhanced with Master's assistance did hurt more.

Amakusa tried applying the salve on his back where the bruises were throbbing, to no avail. He couldn't reach the part where it hurt the most, and Amakusa let out a low frustrated groan. Maybe he needed to ask Master or Da Vinci later—Nightingale would probably rip his torso, so she was out.

"Amakusa Shirou?"

The voice stopped him, and he recognized that voice a bit too quickly—the owner of that voice had been involved closely with him these days.

"The curtains are closed…" He heard her mutter to herself. "You are still there, aren't you, Amakusa Shirou?"

"You miss me already, Jeanne d'Arc?" He tried to reply with a dry joke, which earned an annoyed sigh as a response. "Why did you come back, anyway? Pretty sure I told you and Lily I'll be fine."

He was partially fine, of course, but the annoying bruises on his back were still throbbing.

"I, uh…" Jeanne seemed to be looking for the right words, "I figured you could use some help."

"How so?"

"I witnessed the battle, Amakusa Shirou. Nursery hit you on your back."

Ah, she was sharp. "Then what goes in your mind?"

Amakusa almost laughed as Jeanne let out an infuriated mumble. "Do you really have to be this difficult? I meant to help you apply the salve on your back."

Now Amakusa really was chuckling. "I would be honored, Jeanne d'Arc."

The curtains were opened, and Amakusa's own amber eyes were met with Jeanne d'Arc's figure, swiftly entering Amakusa's compartment. "Is Lily not with you?"

"Jack and Nursery insisted on taking her with them to play." Jeanne approached him. She quickly made her way to sit next to him and examine his back, and he heard her flinch. "Those look worse than the ones on your abdomen."

"They do? No wonder they are really painful." Without her asking, Amakusa turned slightly to hand her the salve—resulting in his face now in a very close proximity with hers. He could feel her warm breath on his face, and he was sure she could feel his too. He took this moment to indulge himself in her deep sapphire eyes. To his—unexpected—disappointment, Jeanne took the salve from his hand and gently pushed his shoulder so his back would be on her again. "Be careful there, Jeanne d'Arc. My bruises really _do_ hurt."

"I will make sure they don't." Amakusa heard rustles of clothing, and in a second he felt Jeanne's warm fingers, covered in salve, gently rubbing the bruises on his back. The earlier rustle was from her taking off her gloves. Amakusa held his breath at the touch. The bruises felt less painful, thanks to the salve, but the warmth spreading to his stomach and chest, nearly making him overwhelmed, surely didn't originate from it.

Perhaps it was from his fellow Ruler's touch.

Jeanne continued applying the salve the almost half of his back—it seemed he kind of underestimated Nursery's attacks—and by the time she pulled away, Amakusa felt his pain had lessened significantly.

He wouldn't admit he felt the loss of her warm touch.

"Thank you for helping me, Jeanne d'Arc." Amakusa turned to face her, watching as she put the lid of the salve on.

"It is only fair that I repay you for your assistance, Amakusa Shirou." He raised his eyebrows. "It is better if you let the salve work for a while, until it is completely absorbed by your skin, before you put on your clothes. Lady Da Vinci told me so."

"I guess so." He was staring. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You do know that it is all Master's plan, right?" He eyed her curiously. "If anything, you should've shown your gratitude towards Master, not me. Or at least, I shouldn't be the only one you're thanking."

"I've thanked Master and other Servants involved, though." Jeanne said. "Lily insisted on giving them all cookies. Which reminds me, your portion is still with Lily."

"I get to have cookies and your assistance, then?" He pried further.

"Well…" Jeanne averted her eyes for a moment, seemingly building up her determination to tell him something and looking at him back in the eye. "You did take the worst blows, Amakusa Shirou. With a clear goal and mind, Lily wouldn't hold back, and of course Jack and Nursery were there as well. They didn't hold their punches, especially with the vast ocean within their grasp."

"Also…it's a personal token of gratitude from me." Jeanne's smile made his stomach churn for a reason he couldn't name. "You took quite a difficult role, Amakusa Shirou. Guiding my lost, child self, towards the true purpose of a Santa, and ultimately leading her to realizing her own wish. Me and Alter have forgotten such a personal, innocent wish—I have dedicated my life for God, leaving behind wishes of my own in the past. Alter…well, Alter's desires are definitely not aligned with Lily's. Alter has experienced the betrayal few can comprehend, the hatred and bitterness inside her heart would reduce a simple wish like that to ashes."

"But Lily is different. Even though she is an Alter, her memories are that of mine when I was still in my childhood, just a little country girl without a great ambition. I couldn't even read!" She laughed, and Amakusa thought her voice was beautiful. "All I wanted was going to the sea, feeling the sand between my toes, running along the beach…that was before I received the Lord's call, of course."

"I was really touched that Master would devise a plan to grant a wish of Lily's—of _mine. _A wish so long forgotten. I'm grateful to Master and all of the Servants involved, really." Her eyes were on his, but they felt distant. "It is such a mundane, selfish, wish. We are currently facing a great crisis threatening humanity, but Master was really considerate."

Amakusa stared at her intently, the image of Jeanne sharing something so personal burning in the back of his mind. He was constantly reminded of their past differences, of blurred images of the Prison Tower—the Count of Monte Cristo had been adamant to stay silent whenever asked about the event, and of many times they had to fight with, not _against_, each other. This Jeanne in front of him was very different. She looked…more serene, like someone who had lived a peaceful life, opposed to her tragic one.

She looked happy, and that made his chest burn with an unnamed passion.

Amakusa would like to see more of her expressions, preferably ones like this one she currently had on her face.

"So, Amakusa Shirou, I've made it clear that I'm grateful to Master and everyone, including you, okay? You played along perfectly, wearing a silly mask—I know Amadeus lends it to everyone who asks—and even took some hard blows. This is the least I can do to repay you."

"The least you can do, huh?" Amakusa chuckled. He scooted closer, grinning, and Jeanne flinched. "You can at least lend the salve to me, Jeanne d'Arc. Just to be safe, in case the bruises are still there by tomorrow. I'm afraid I might need your help again applying it on my back, though. Do you mind?"

He was directly facing her, still showing his grin, with faces only a few centimeters away, and his hand slowly reached for hers—the one still holding the salve. Jeanne pulled away on reflex, he saw her cheeks slowly being recolored by thin red, and she quickly shoved the salve on his hand. "You can have the salve! I can ask for Master and Lady Da Vinci for more—and I think Miss Nightingale won't be as occupied tomorrow, so you can ask her—"

"But Jeanne d'Arc," His hand accepted the salve from her—but somehow, he didn't let go of her hand. He held her hand—and the salve—gently, his eyes bore their amber brightness into her deep sapphire ones, "I wish for _your_ assistance."

"Uh, should I just use Luminosité Eternelle on you?" She groggily tried pulling her hand back, out of Amakusa's touch. "To heal you and remove the debuffs?"

"That would be a waste of mana for you, Jeanne d'Arc." Unfortunately for Jeanne, Amakusa's grip was strong enough for her not to be able to free herself, but his touch was somehow still…gentle. "So, I'd prefer if you just aid me in applying this salve—"

They both were caught by surprise when a loud blast rang in their ears, and even more surprised when _a ball of fire_ was directed towards them, forcing them to jump back, creating a distance. Amakusa turned his head to look at the source of such a _sinister, hostile_ presence, and a figure in black armor was standing in place of the burnt curtains. The salve that was in their hands fell to the ground, rolling until it reached the attacker's feet.

"Alter!?" Jeanne exclaimed in panic, surprised to see her counterpart standing by them, and more dangerously, seeming furious. "What are you doing!?"

"What are _you_ doing, you _gullible, naïve, stupid_—" Alter moved forward, and both Rulers stepped back. They were definitely in no condition to face an angry Avenger!

To everyone in the room's—which only consisted of Jeanne and Amakusa, save for Alter—surprise, Alter kicked the burnt bed aside and stood in front of Jeanne. Her fury was clearly aimed at Amakusa, then. "Alter—"

"_You big idiot!" _Alter burst out, turning to face her counterpart, "I overheard Lily saying that both of you were helping this malicious, manipulative guy and then Lily was playing with her _dumb friends_ and leaving _you_ with _this guy_ alone! What did I find!? He is not wearing his fucking clothes and was practically _trying to fuck things up—_I'm going to send you back to the_ fucking Throne of Heroes_, Amakusa! _It's stake burning o'clock!_"

"A—Alter, wait!" Jeanne put her hand on Alter's shoulder, "He didn't mean any harm—"

"It is so sweet of you to worry for Jeanne d'Arc, Jeanne d'Arc Alter." Amakusa's calm statement fueled Alter's rage further, whether he realized it or not. He most likely did.

"_This is the howl of my soul filled with hatred—"_

It was Amakusa's cue to _escape for his life_, clothes be damned.

"_LA GRONDEMENT DU HAINE!:_

* * *

"…Adult-Me is so stupid…"

Santa Lily was with Jack and Nursery Rhyme as always, chomping on a special cake made by Tamamo Cat. She heard about the disaster occurring in the infirmary after her _hot-headed, dumb, dishonest_ Adult-Self barged into the infirmary and blasted it with her _Noble Phantasm_ like it was nothing.

Santa Lily was also tired of hearing her Adult-Self's denial (_'I knew that fucker would try something—I WAS NOT worried! I just _hate _that guy's guts!') _when the whole Chaldea knew that both Jeanne Alter and Santa Lily actually cared for Jeanne d'Arc. They just had their own interesting ways of showing it.

Nevertheless, after hearing about the disaster, Master had been amused. Alter was, of course, punished—she had to help repairing the wing of Chaldea's base she had damaged and that _was_ hilarious, with Alter's endless fuming, endless insult coming from Arturia Alter, and of course Jeanne's willingness to help. Alter had been annoyed to no end, but accepted the help anyway.

Speaking of Jeanne, Santa Lily was aware that her Proper-Adult-Self had visited Amakusa after apologizing profusely to Master and Dr. Roman. Maybe she felt responsible for letting Alter went on a rampage, although it was not her fault at all. Jeanne was worried that Amakusa was caught in Alter's Noble Phantasm, but it seemed her Mentor did get away in time.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a rose black-key in front of her and Jeanne's shared room the night after, complete with a new salve they had given Amakusa to treat his bruises and a letter. Santa Lily decided not to pick up the 'presents' and let her Proper-Adult-Self do it. She had yet to come back from helping Alter though, so Santa Lily just left the presents alone.

* * *

When Jeanne returned late to her room—Alter had chased her away, especially after Jeanne invited her to their _sisters bonding time_ with Santa Lily—her eyes widened as she caught the sight of a rose black key and an all-too familiar salve, a brand new one at that. She also noticed that there was a letter tied to the black key's handle, and she frowned. Didn't she tell him she couldn't read?

Sighing, Jeanne untied the letter nonetheless, wanting to take a peek. She widened her eyes in a pleasant surprise when instead of words, she found a drawing instead.

A small Amakusa bowing to a small Jeanne, as if saying thank you.

Jeanne smiled warmly.

"You're welcome, Amakusa Shirou."

* * *

Alter was _exhausted_, and that was saying a lot—she was a Servant, for any deity's sake! This wouldn't happen if that _gullible, naïve, stupid girl_ had been more wary of that _cunning priest!_ Of course, Alter wouldn't admit to the world that she had felt the _tiniest speck _of worry—and add that cunning priest's infuriating face, it was no wonder Alter would lash out.

That cunning priest needed to learn his lesson.

"Dammit, I wish Valentines will come soon…"

* * *

**A/N: **How did that end up as a 3000-words oneshot.

1\. Yeay Edonai cameo! I love the Prison Tower gang so much lol

2\. I'm sorry, Sieg and Semiramis.

3\. I know in Apocrypha these two are like, _mortal enemies_ and Amakusa wants Jeanne dead or something but in FGO it's kinda different y'know, with Prison Tower and now, this little Santa Lily event. Some cute fan arts of these two don't help either.

4\. Jeanne and Jalter don't get along (looking at their My Room convo), but I believe Santa Lily is friendlier, and pls I just want my Jeanne sisters to actually care about each other albeit in very different ways (like Jalter in this fic)

5\. _Stake burning o'clock_ is Jalter's actual line from Shinjuku and I love it a lot lol

6\. Jeanne d'Arc was really illiterate; Da Vinci helped Amakusa draw in the 'letter'

7\. Why would Jalter wish for Valentines? Because it's where Semiramis banner comes up lmao


End file.
